Zulum sponsors 60 Borno students to study leather technology
By Tada Jutha, Maiduguri
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has sponsored 60 indigent students to study leather technology to harness hides and skin in boosting employment and livelihoods.
The National Institute of Leather Science and Technology (NILEST), Zaria, Kaduna, offers diploma courses in the processing of hides and skin to add value to the livestock industry in the Northeast.
Speaking shortly before the students’ departure from Maiduguri to Zaria on Thursday, the Executive Secretary of the State’s Scholarship Board, Dr. Bala Isa, stated, “The 60 students were selected from the 27 local government areas of the state to study how to add value to the raw hides and skin.”
He noted that Borno is the largest producer of livestock, with a population of 11.7 million animals, including camels, horses, goats and sheep.
Highlighting the packages of scholarship, Isa stated, “The board is paying the school fees for two years, and a N30,000 monthly stipends to support the students complete their studies in the leather technology, which has been ignored by successive state governments in the Nort.”
Besides adding value to leather products, the Executive Secretary stated that leather technology could ensure the students become self-reliant through vocational and technical education.
He, therefore, urged the students to make the most of this rare opportunity, by focusing on the leather technology studies.
“You should serve as good ambassadors of the state in boosting employment with increased added values to hides and skin in the state,” he said.
He also commended the North East Regional Manager of NILEST for his relentless efforts in facilitating the participation of Borno indigenes in the leather technology training programme.
